


A Civil War Story

by Sunja



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Background Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Civil War (Marvel), Comic Universe, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Possible Spoilers for CA3-CW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-30 00:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6399679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunja/pseuds/Sunja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heroes are a great thing. They save the world. The problem: there is often collateral damage. People injured, property damage... When a young group of heroes inadvertedly become responsible for the destruction of a whole town that is the final straw and a new law is proposed: the Superhero Registration Act. Those heroes immediately find themselves on two sides: Those in favor and those who aren't. This is the story of the hero Maroon, aka Jenna Knight who has to find her way through the Civil War. </p><p>Set in the Comic Universe, but should be understandable with only knowledge from the MCU. If there are important characters that might not be known, I'll try to give a quick summary of who they are and what they can do in the beginning or end of the chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's on

### Chapter 1 – It’s on

I wasn’t even awake when it happened. The biggest internationally felt incident since 9/11 and I was lying in my bad and sleeping. I had fought a gang all night long and had only very closely dodged a couple of deadly bullets. The only thing I had been capable of doing in the morning was to take a shower and collapse onto my bed. When I awoke in the late afternoon and zapped through the channels of the TV after a little snack I inevitably stumbled across the news of the day. It was on almost every channel. News channels replayed that moment over and over, the usually humorous channels showed specials about what had happened and talk shows only talked about what this incident would mean for the world.   
I was so taken aback that I almost choked on my coffee and it took me a second to collect myself before I could process what I was hearing there. A team of young heroes, the New Warriors, had been filming a TV show about their heroic deeds. For better ratings they had apparently faced off against a small group of villains today, one of them under the name of Nitro. The fight had taken place in a small town called Stamford, right next to an elementary school. The Warriors had threatened Nitro and his group, so he had used his powers, those being self destruction. In a huge explosion that had been broadcasted on television and that I was now watching over and over again, the city had been blown to pieces.   
I stared at the screen for what felt like ages without moving while my brain slowly processed what that meant. Whatever would happen next, the world would never be the same.   
I reached for my cellphone and dialed. There was only one person that wasn’t a superhero that I talked to about my double life. He was the only one who knew and he supplied me with technology. We had studied together and while I had moved to New York to become a hero, he had stayed in Boston and was now doing some job involving computers.   
“Hi Jenna.”, Tyler greeted.   
“Hi Tyler.”, I replied. “Have you seen the news?”  
“Kind of inevitable today, don’t you think?” He sighed. “Terrible thing, eh?”  
“Yeah…” I started massaging my temples. “What do you think is going to happen now?”  
Tyler fell silent for a moment. “My boss says they’re going to introduce a law to keep superheroes under control.”  
I nodded until I realized that he couldn’t see that through the phone. “Yeah, they’re already talking about that on TV… Do you think they’ll really do it?”  
Tyler sighed. “Sorry, Jen, but after what happened today… maybe the idea of rules for superheroes isn’t so bad…”  
“Yes, rules are good, but a law…” I was sceptical. “Let’s see how this situation develops and what that law is going to mean. I’ll call you back then.”  
“Sure. And whatever you decide, your secret is safe with me.”  
I smiled. Tyler was a real blessing. The best buddy one could wish for. We said goodbye and I ended the call.   
The next night I was on the street again, but there was nothing going on. It was as if the whole city was holding its breath for whatever came next. I was home shortly after midnight and enjoyed sleeping at night for once.   
The next day the draft of the new law was officially presented to the public. It read that people with superpowers had to register those and whoever wanted to be a superhero had to do so as an officer of the government. Those heroes would then receive training, an insurance and a wage. The first time I heard this it didn’t sound so bad. After all, the Stamford incident could have been avoided if the Warriors had been trained better. But the longer I thought about it, the more problems and questions about this new law came to my mind. For example, the rules of the government would be restricting. Heroes each took different courses of action and not all of them would agree with the government. Also one would have to get a warrant like any cop to break into some place and paperwork costed time, valuable time that could otherwise be spent saving lives. Furthermore, I was sure that the government would pick our opponents, something that I wasn’t okay with at all. And then there was the question of morality. I and many others had become superheroes because we wanted to save people and to bring justice to those the law didn’t help. How would we stay true to these goals, to this morality, when we were working for a government that allowed the death sentence, that allowed anyone to carry a gun, that send soldiers into warzones so happily to kill the “bad guys”, that spied on the whole world and acted as if it were necessary, and that had nuclear weapons placed all over the world?  
The longer I thought about it, the more I was against this law.   
There had been a call for a meeting in the Baxter Building, where all the Avengers and other heroes would come together to discuss this new law. I dressed in my hero costume and made my way there. In the crowd of heroes and heroines I didn’t stand out. Costumes and suits were colorful, some more some less armored, some wore masks, some didn’t. My outfit was dark grey and black, with a couple of dark red pieces and patterns that had helped me to the name Maroon. I also owned a mask, but usually I wore a pair of sunglasses that Tyler had built for me, that were fitted with a little screen so I had night vision and thermal scanners built into the glasses, also there was a GPS system. From the outside it just looked like I was wearing sunglasses at night.   
I looked around amongst the heroes. Most were there, I didn’t know all of them though. I saw Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, aka. Mr. Fantastic and The Thing from the Fantastic Four (Johnny Storm had apparently been attacked by some drunks earlier this day and Susan was with him at the hospital where he was in a coma), Doctor Stephen Strange was there, Hank Pymp aka. Antman, some of the Young Avengers, She-Hulk, Falcon, Wolverine, Spiderwoman. I kept in the background and listened to the discussion. I was going in circles. Even now you could see the sides. Ironman, the Fantastic Four and Hank Pymp thought the law was logical, others like the Falcon were strictly against it. Spiderman, who had shown up not long ago and who was one of the few people whose real identity I didn’t know, feared for his family should his identity be found out. Matt Murdock – Daredevil – who like me had kept quiet until now stated that this law would have probably come sooner or later anyway and that now everything would change. At least about that he was right. 

Two weeks later the Superhero Registration Act was voted into existence with an overwhelming majority. I personally hadn’t definitely decided on what I was going to do as soon as the law would officially apply in another two weeks. Ironman and his group of heroes were doing their best to sweeten up this law for the rest of us, Captain America had gone underground and apparently some of the heroes had followed him. I was one of the significant number that hadn’t made their choice yet. On the one hand I didn’t like the thought of being hunted by the government like an outlaw, but on the other hand: I had always acted outside of the law. Vigilantism, as they usually called our heroics, had always been illegal. Only in the last years, when more and more heroes had appeared and had earned themselves a good reputation that breaking of the law had become less and less important.   
Finally, the crucial evening came. At midnight the Registration act would become law. Until then I had to make my decision. I looked at my phone. Either I called Tony Stark and told him I wanted to register, or I called Tyler and told him I would disappear. One or the other. I had already packed a backpack with the necessary things, should I have to flee, but it wasn’t to late yet… I could still choose the law… It would be so much easier to just do what the law commanded…  
I sighed and dialed. Tyler answered after the first ringing. “Jenn.”  
“Delete your mails, delete our chat, pretend you don’t know me. If I need you I’ll contact you.”, I said quickly.   
Tyler remained silent for a moment. “Good luck, be careful.”  
“Thanks. Until next time, Tyler…”  
“Hey Jen, if I were you I would probably do the same thing.”, he added, then he hung up. I reset my phone to standard so all data was deleted, then I laid it on the table and took the backpack. I had ten minutes to disappear until the law was active and I was a wanted criminal.


	2. Secret Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna is going underground to meet up with the Captain and his team.

The sewers were dark and disgusting. It stank horribly so I made sure to breathe through my mouth and I was glad my sunglasses had night vision. I snuck around a corner and wondered what I was going to do now. How would I even find the Captain and his guys? After all, they didn’t exactly put out signs. I began whistling a tune until I realized that it was probably a bad idea to make noise since there were most likely already S.H.I.E.L.D. agents searching the sewers. They were a well used hiding spot for superheroes. Almost a cliché.   
I moved on and tried to stay as quiet as possible. I stepped around another corner, when suddenly someone touched my shoulder. I spun around rapidly and was suddenly facing Daredevil, who gestured to me to be silent and listened for a moment.   
“You weren’t followed.”, he whispered then.   
I nodded. “How did you find me?”, I asked.   
He smiled. “First I heard you whistling and then I just followed your heartbeat.”  
“Are you looking for the Captain too?”, I asked.   
“I’m on his team. Follow me!”  
I walked through the sewers for another few minutes and finally arrived at a latter. We climbed up and suddenly I was standing in a sort of warehouse where a couple of heroes were sitting around a table. On several screens there were the news of heroes being hunted all over the city. Daredevil looked at one of the screens and asked about the heroes in it that were being loaded onto a prison transport as we stood there. Luke Cage who sat in front of the screen only shook his head. “Don’t worry. Cap and Falcon are already there undercover… Wilson even told me to start making coffee!”  
Daredevil just shook his head grinning and turned around to me. “Welcome to the resitance!”  
I smiled and looked around at the heroes present. They weren’t a lot, but that could still change. Of course there were Daredevil and Luke Cage, but also Cloak, Cable and two others. We exchanged a few words, when suddenly the prison transport appeared out of thin air and stopped with screeching tires.   
The driver seat door opened and Steve Rogers in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform climbed out. He opened the back door and we gathered around as the saved heroes and Falcon climbed out. I recognized some of the Young Avengers, one of them Wiccan, who had apparently teleported the transport with a spell.   
“Where are we?”, asked one of the others.   
Cable smiled. “Congratulations, kids. You just joined the resistance.”  
Everybody looked around the hall. It was equipped with technology, weapons, vehicles, everything that you would expect from a good hideout.   
“What kind of place is this?”, asked one of the Young Avengers. He was wearing a sort of uniform and had Captain Americas first shield on his back. Patriot, if my memory served me right.  
“One of Nick Fury’s old hideouts.”, Rogers explained.   
“Fury’s already working on our new identities.”, Daredevil added.   
“Why would we need new identities?”, Patriot asked.   
“Because your present ones probably aren’t as secret anymore as you’d hope they’d be. And you’re going to need to stay somewhere when we’re not out there and kicking S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ass.”, Cable explained.   
“In the meantime we stay here.”, the Captain continued. “Tony and his crew are planning something big and from now on we are going to strike back.”  
There was a brief moment in which we all looked at each other in determination, until Luke Cage pointed at one of the screens. “Guys, you have to see this.”  
It was a news broadcast showing Tony Stark who was praising the Registration Act again. Suddenly Spiderman dropped in from above. Tony left him the stage.   
I was worried. Spiderman had always been one of my friends among the heroes. He was funny, but serious about serious things, just like me he kept his identity a secret and he was a very nice person. I was worried what he was going to do now.   
“Uhm… As you all know I’ve always kept my identity a secret.”, Spiderman said and I noticed that he wasn’t used to talking to a big audience and cameras. “After a long discussion with my wife and my aunt I have decided to take this step.”, he continued. “This new law leaves us with only two options: Either we do what Captain America supports and people with powers go unchecked…”  
I shot a glance at Rogers, but he was just staring at the screen with an unreadable poker face.   
“… or superheroes can register and gain back some of the trust we’ve lost.” Spiderman paused. “I’m not wearing this mask because I am ashamed for what I do. I am proud to be who I am and I’m here to prove it.”  
With these words he pulled his mask off his head and confirmed my fears. Spiderman was a comparably good looking young man with brown hair and brown eyes. “My name is Peter Parker and I’ve been Spiderman since I was fifteen years old.” He looked straight at the horde of cameras that were flashing wildly. “Any questions?”  
We all looked at each other in silence. This had been a very courageous thing to do, especially since Spiderman had always been the most careful about his identity. Peter Parker. I smiled. The name fit him. I wondered if we would ever fight crime together again like we used to in the past.   
Cable turned of the monitor. “Stark’s made a smart move.”  
Rogers looked at us thoughtfully. “We need to show them that we’re not the bad guys.”  
Luke cage nodded. “We need to show them that the new law doesn’t prevent us from doing good – our way.”  
Falcon grinned. “So we’re a new team of heroes? We need a name!”  
Daredevil smirked, as did I.   
“Anti-control-group?”, he said and I giggled.   
“Team Cap?”, Falcon asked. “We could have T-Shirts printed!”  
The Captain was the only one who was still looking serious. The rest of us was already shaking with laughter.   
“S.W.O.R.D.? Opposing S.H.I.E.L.D.? Superheroes-who-oppose-registration-division?”, one of the Young Avengers proposed.   
“The _New_ New Avengers?”, Daredevil said.   
“I have an idea!”, I interrupted. “The Secret Avengers.”  
Nobody objected.


	3. Headlines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Secret Avengers go up against a team of villains - the Sinister Six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not so known but maybe important characters in this chapter:  
> \- Vulture (he has wings and can fly)  
> \- Trapster (shoots glue; no superpowers)  
> \- Grim Reaper (shoots energy bolts)  
> \- Shocker (has a suit that can shock with vibration... I think. Not really important)
> 
> Other characters should be known from the MCU and other Marvel Movies. If I'm wrong about these character's powers, please let me know, if you have questions about characters that I didn't list here, please leave a note as well.

I sat on the roof of a building and carefully watched the warehouse on the opposite side of the street. We had been fighting crime for weeks, but today was a big deal because today we were about to fight the Sinister Six, who were planning something again.   
“I’m in position. Maroon, over.”, I said into my radio. With the help of my sunglasses I zoomed in on the warehouse. I could see lights; the six villains were definitely inside. I looked around but there seemed to by nobody else out on the streets. Perfect. No civilians in danger.   
“This is falcon, I’m in position. Over.”, I heard through the radio. I looked at the sky where falcon was circling like a bird of prey, ready to dive into the warehouse through one of the windows.   
“Daredevil in position.”  
“Also in position.”, I heard Luke Cage say.   
“We attack in twenty seconds. The clock is ticking.”, the Captain ordered. I slid down the fire escape of the building I was on and ran to the backdoor of the warehouse where Daredevil was already waiting. Luke and Cap were securing the front entry and Falcon would go through one of the windows.   
“Now!”, the Captain ordered and I kicked in the door. Daredevil bolted through and I followed him, grabbing my sticks from my back. Those sticks were my preferred weapon. I could use them in close quarter combat and they could even be hooked together to form one long stick. But what I liked the most was that they could deliver electric shocks that would almost certainly render somebody unconscious.   
The Sinister Six spun around when we arrived. The Team included Vulture, Lizard, Doctor Octopus, Trapster, Grim Reaper and Shocker. Falcon and Vulture, who both had wings started ripping out each others feathers; meanwhile Cap and Luke attacked Lizard and Doctor Octopus. I dodged an energy bolt from Grim Reaper and sprinted toward Trapster. Trapster, like me, had no real superpowers and compensated that disadvantage with brains and gadgets. His preferred method was to shoot glue.   
I swung a punch, he ducked and shot a string of glue that knocked one of my sticks out of my hand. I distanced myself a little and attacked again. Trapster threw a can on the ground and it spilled a quickly hardening liquid. I stepped on it carefully and fell almost immediately. This new surface was more slippery than ice.   
“Ha, you didn’t see that coming!”, Trapster triumphed. “You heroes… Without guns it is so simple to stop you, as you have to come so close to harm us!”  
I grinned, dropped my stick, drew my Taser from my boot and pulled the trigger. With a surprised face Trapster collapsed to the ground unconscious. I picked up my two sticks and looked around. Lizard was already down, Luke Cage fought Shocker, Daredevil fought Grim Reaper and Cap was still going on against Octopus. I turned around to Grim Reaper and Daredevil and could see out of the corner of my eye that vulture fell from the air straight onto Octopus. Cap used the moment to quickly hit them both unconscious.   
Together we quickly overpowered the remaining opponents.   
Standing between those unconscious villains I had to smile. It felt damn good to do something again. To have stopped villains. To have saved people. Without exchanging a word, but with a positive silence we tied up the Sinister Six. I found a piece of paper and wrote with a pencil I had found “Greetings from the Secret Avengers” on it and tucked the paper into Doctor Octopus’ bindings.   
“I think we’re done here.”, the Captain commented. We left the warehouse and Luke Cage pulled a burner phone from his pocket. He dialed 911 and told the police the address of the warehouse. On the next corner he threw away the phone. We all looked at each other in content and snuck back to our respective apartments. 

By now we all had new names and lived in new apartments. We met up only in case of an emergency or when we had planned something, otherwise we lived our lives as normal as possible. I had to actively keep myself from calling Tyler, but I wrote him letters on which I didn’t write my name or address. He would know who was sending them and I couldn’t risk compromising my new identity.   
My apartment was small, but I didn’t need much room. I spent most of my time elsewhere. My new name was Melanie Jones and I was a secretary. I had to resist introducing myself as Jenna Knight every time a met someone new and until now I had been able to avoid any critical situations. What was bothering me the most about my new life was the unease. Every time I looked up and saw the Stark Tower or Baxter Building I looked away as if only looking at them would blow my cover. Every time I heard engines or a helicopter I thought it were the Capekillers, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s special unit to arrest superheroes that were here to bring me in. Every time I saw a registered hero I pulled up my hood and covered my face with my hair, fearing they would recognize me.   
I often played with the thought of either leaving the country or registering, but I knew I wouldn’t to either of those things. I was convinced that I was on the right side, especially since the registered heroes were officially hunting down the unregistered. The first example of the government dictating who the enemies were. The villains were still the same, except this became harder and harder to see as we were slowly but certainly moving to violent altercations. The media was already calling the recent crisis a Civil War.   
I opened the door to my apartment and pulled of my suit. I looked at it quickly, the red patterns, the black, the grey… Why couldn’t everything just go back to the way it was? But I knew that would never happen. The world had changed. A threw the suit over a chair and fell into my bed.   
When I watched the news the next morning I saw a report about how S.H.I.E.L.D. had found the Sinister Six and I had to smile. The news reporter noted that the Secret Avengers had captured the Six and S.H.I.E.L.D. had merely taken them in. A small victory for us – the public had to accept that we were still the good guys. The only thing that differenced us from the registered heroes was that we had stayed true to our ideals and they had stayed true to the law.


	4. An Act of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first real confrontation of the two sides.

I sat in my apartment and was reading a newspaper. The Captain and Falcon had saved the passengers of a hijacked plane and had made the front page again. I smiled and read on. I was turning a page when a message appeared on my phone. It said “Fire at Geffen-Meyer Chemicals, over 300 in danger, Wiccan on the way”  
I grabbed my suit and got dressed. I packed my sticks and the Taser and ran out the apartment and onto the roof where Wiccan usually teleported to. He was already waiting. I put a hand on his shoulder and he began murmuring a spell. Seconds later we were standing in the middle of a burning chemical factory. Captain America, Daredevil, Goliath and Hercules teleported next to us with Cloak. Luke Cage, Cable and the Young Avengers were standing here to. Everyone was present.   
“How many did the emergency call say were stuck here?”, the Captain asked.   
“Three- to four-hundred.”, Cable answered. “But something is off… I don’t get any signals, nothing…”  
“What is it, Cable?”, Luke Cage asked.   
Cable looked at the floor. I followed his gaze and recognized a floor panel. It read ‘Geffen-Meyer Chemicals – A Division of Stark Enterprises’  
“We have to leave now, it’s a trap!”, Cable shouted, but it was to late. From somewhere we heard shots and Cloak and Wiccan, our two teleporters, fell to the floor.   
“Of course it’s a trap. How else were we going to get all of you in one spot?”  
I turned around. Tony Stark was slowly flying down in his Ironman suit, behind him his team was gathered. They were all there: Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Wonderman, Spiderman, Antman…  
I looked around. We were surrounded and outnumbered.   
“What the hell did you do to Cloak and Wiccan?”, one of the Young Avengers shouted.   
“They’re just knocked out, so there won’t be any teleporting…”, Spiderman answered. “Skybird one, do you have them on your radar?”, he asked. For a moment I was confused, then I looked up and spotted several S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopters that were hovering over our heads as air support.   
“Is your boss going soft, Tony?”, the Captain asked. The two were facing each other with a few meters between them, their respective teams behind them.   
“We’re not here to arrest you, Cap.”, Star replied. “I convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. to offer you one last amnesty.”  
“If we surrender? No thanks, I’ll take my chances.”, the Captain sounded determined.   
“Come on, Cap! The only ones profiting when we are fighting each other are the criminals! This is going against every principle you have ever believed in!”, Spider man interrupted.   
“Look who’s talking! Tell me, is Mary Jane happy that Sandman now has her address?”, the Captain responded before he turned back to Stark. Stark opened the face plate of his helmet. “Cap, I know it’s a big step, but we’re not in the forties anymore. The people don’t want masks and secrets, the want to feel safe when we’re around and there is no other way to gain back their trust. Steve, you’ve known me for a long time, you know I wouldn’t do any of this if I didn’t believe in my heart that this is the right thing to do. We don’t want to fight you. At least give me a chance to explain our plans for the future!”  
I watched the others from the corner of my eye. I thought Starks speech was pretty convincing. Not enough to switch sides, but I could see where he was coming from.   
The Captain looked at Starks held out hand, then at us and back to Starks hand. “Five minutes.”, he said and shook it.   
“Five minutes are all I need.”, Stark replied and I could here the relief in his voice. They stepped back and Stark was about to start talking, when he stopped and looked at his hand. “What the hell…?”, he started but an electric shock interrupted him. The Captain hit him hard while the armor was rebooting itself. Behind the Captain stood Goliath, one of our heroes. He used his powers and grew until he was at least five meters tall. Antman responded by turning his shrinking suit to growing and took on an equal size. I dodged the gigantic feet and together with Daredevil I attacked Spiderman. He was fast, I had to give him that, and the new suit that was dampening our punches and provided him with four extra arms helped too. I did my best and managed to deliver a few punches, but Spiderman just took them. Captain America threw his shield, it shot towards Spiderman, but he dodged it and caught it with one of his armes. He made some witty comment and I was about to catch one of his arms, when he flung around his arm with the shield and knocked me and Daredevil of our feet. I got up and saw the Captain fighting Spiderman, until suddenly Ironman flew into him from behind and they crashed through a wall. Obviously his armor had rebooted. I got up and was about to run at a new opponent, when suddenly a flash of lighting shot down from the sky.   
“What the hell?”, one of my teammates asked next to me.   
“My god…”, Daredevil murmured, even though he couldn’t even see the appearance. I kept staring at the blue light, there was a person visible inside it. I looked closer, I person with a raised hammer…  
In front of us stood Thor, his blonde hair waving in the sudden storm. For a moment time seemed to stop. A moment in which all of us asked ourselves how this was possible. Thor, the real Thor, was dead. Had been for years. And yet, there he was…  
“Thor?”, Falcon asked stunned. He was bruised and his masked only covered one of his eyes.   
“Thor, what are you doing? It’s me, Falcon…” Thor looked at him coldly. “Where were you, we all thought you were dead…”, Falcon continued.   
“No, Falcon, that would be you…!” Thor raised his hammer and with an almost scarily furious expression he threw it. One throw and Falcon, Daredevil and me were down.   
“We have to get out of here!”, I murmured. “This is… wrong!”  
Thor ran his hammer into the ground and caused a shockwave that threw all heroes that were still standing on the ground. I quickly brought my knees up to me chest and covered my head to protect me from the shock and debris.   
The dust made me cough, but I slowly got up to my knees when suddenly there was an incredibly loud sound. The sound was a single tone and had hit the perfect frequency. The scientist in me was impressed by Starks Gadgets, but that only lasted for a moment. A fraction of a second later I was back on the ground, uselessly covering my ears to try and silence the sound. My pained screams and those of the others were barely audible, there was only this sound, filling my head, blocking out everything else…  
I barely noticed how something fell and buried Stark. A moment later the sound was gone and lowered my hands relieved. “Someone turned it off…”, a heroine next to me said.   
“Then what are we waiting for?”, Daredevil asked, jumped up and attacked Spiderman. I got up too and shocked somebody with my stick.   
Falcon dove down from the sky and grabbed the Captain who was severely injured, while Cable hooked himself up to Cloak to teleport us away.   
What happened next I almost didn’t notice since I was busy dodging Ms. Marvels hits, but then…  
Goliath, who could grow in size, took down a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and then turned to Thor. He said some line like: “Prepare for the shortest comeback in history!” and was about to attack, but Thor stayed where he was. “I don’t think so.”, I heard him say, then he raised his hammer and shot lightning at Goliath…  
Goliath didn’t have time to move or to react otherwise, the lighting hit him right in the chest and went through his heart.   
Immediately the fighting stopped and everyone watched horrified how Goliath slowly fell back and then crushed to the ground.   
Falcon came flying, the Captain in his arms. “Fall back and regroup, we have to get out of here or we’re all going down!”  
“You are all going down!”, Thor roared while the others and me ran to Cable and Cloak. Thor used his hammer and lightning struck and thought it was over, when suddenly the lightning stopped right in front of us.   
Susan Storm slowly turned visible. She had been strictly on Tony Stark’s and her husband Reed Richard’s side so far, but here she stood saving our lives. “You have to go. Now!”, she ordered.  
“But what about our wounded?”, one of the Young Avengers asked. “We can’t just leave them behind…”  
“You can stay behind if it makes you feel better, son.”, Cable replied drily. “We only have one shot at this.” He focused.   
Before we disappeared Falcon turned around to Susan Storm. “Thank you Susan.”, he said and then we were gone.   
“Thor killed Goliath.”, I said when we were standing in our hideout. No one spoke. Just like me they still couldn’t believe it. We knew that hadn’t been the real Thor, but to think that Tony Stark would unleash this monster on us, that he would allow it to kill…  
Falcon handed Cap over to the doctors, the rest of us just stood there not knowing what to do. I noticed a tear running down my face.


	5. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna goes to Goliath's funeral and the team gains (and looses) some allies.

Chapter 5 – The Aftermath  
Some time had passed. Not much, but enough to turn our grief into anger and determination.   
We were all standing around Captain America who was still being treated by the doctors. He had some mean injuries. The rest of us still felt the pain from the fight, but we were full of energy. I deeply wished for a punching bag since I really need something to blow of some steam.   
The Captain was arguing with one of the heroes. Cap was like most of us only more determined but the other hero seemed to have doubts. In the last weeks some of our heroes had been arrested and brought to the new superhero prison. We didn’t know how it worked or were it was, all we knew was the name: 42. The hero said he didn’t want to end there. And he didn’t want to end like Goliath either. “Goliath was dead from the moment he decided to stand against the law.”, the hero said and left. Two more followed him, the rest stayed.   
“Let them go, if their freedom means so little to them.”, the Captain ordered. “It’s about time we found a new hideout anyway.”

Goliath’s burial was held the next day. The Captain had ordered us not to go, even though he had been our teammate and friend, but he was right, there would be to many registered heroes. I had nodded like everyone else and had gone home. But when I had sat there, rain drumming against the windows, I had realized that I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. I had dressed in some black clothes, had taken a black umbrella and on the way I had bought a wig.   
Now I stood in costume next to the other grieving people and stayed away from Stark and the Avengers the best I could. I stood at the long side of the gigantic grave and looked down at Goliath who was still in his grown state and who was slowly being lowered into the hole. I crouched down and took a handful of wet earth and threw it into the grave with a small flower. Then I stood up again and wiped my hand while looking over to the far side of the grave where Tony Stark and the Avengers were standing. Even though I was standing a couple of meters away I could clearly see the incredibly sad and guilty look on Stark’s face. There was no doubt that he had not foreseen this outcome and that he had never planned it.   
I sighed. I liked Tony Stark. Very much. Captain Rogers was a role model, someone to look up to, but Tony Stark… He only wanted to do the right thing, but he made mistakes. He had things he regretted. He was only human. The Captain on the other hand… he was like a constant reminder of how we should have been but weren’t.   
I kept looking at Tony Stark. He looked more serious than I had ever seen. He had been so charming and funny, always the life of the party and constantly flirting. Once on the fourth of July and once on New Years Eve when we had both been a little drunk we had let ourselves go. Two wild nights I still remembered fondly.   
When he was wearing his armor Tony often seemed cold and calculating, that made it easier to see him as the opponent – never an enemy, but an opponent, but now as he was standing there at Goliath’s grave and blaming himself… I could see the Tony Stark that made me laugh, the Tony Stark that I liked, but now he was so sad, so bitter…   
I shot a glance at the grave. When I looked back to Stark he was looking at me over the grave and I knew he had recognized me. However he didn’t move to tell somebody that I was here, so I stayed a few more minutes and then I slowly walked home. 

When I returned to our headquarters soon after it was buzzing with people. I counted around twenty heroes who had switched to our side, most notably Susan and Johnny Storm.   
Captain America entered the room and we gathered around the long conference table. A status update was given for all the heroes who – like me – didn’t live in the hideout anymore. Cloak had been captured. He had been our last teleporter. The Captain had counted on him for an assault at the Baxter Building – the HQ of the Fantastic Four – where we had hoped to steel the blueprints for the secret high security prison 42. Now however it looked as if we would have to postpone the assault, since Susan Storm as well as our Shapeshifter were busy with other tasks. I sighed. We weren’t really getting anywhere.  
Susan Storm made some comment about Stark, when suddenly the doors opened and a tall man in a black vest with a white skull entered the room. In his arms he held the bloody, unconscious Spiderman. “We need a doctor! Now!”, the Punisher shouted.   
Immediately two doctors hurried over and the Punisher carried Spiderman into another room where the doctors started to treat him. “What the hell happened?”, one of the doctors asked.   
“Several broken bones and serious blood loss thanks to Tony Stark and his friends.”, the Punisher explained.   
“Ironman? I though he was Spiderman’s hero?”, one of the heroes asked.   
“Well, he’s on our side now.”, Punisher replied.   
“Our side?”, Falcon asked. “Since when are you part of the team?”  
“Since the other side is using known thieves and murderes.”  
“Am I the only one who sees the irony here?”, one of the heroes asked. She had a point. The Punisher was known for killing his opponents, or rather his victims. Even if he only killed criminals us other heroes thought his methods were wrong, even if it did make certain that the criminals would never harm someone else.   
“Who do you think has been running around in a ski-mask for the last couple of weeks and had your back?”, the Punisher asked. “The way I see it you need any help you can get.”  
Johnny Storm wasn’t convinced. “Sure! Why don’t we call Hannibal Lecter and ask if he wants to join too?”  
“Because Hannibal Lecter doesn’t have the Black Ops training to get you into the Baxter Building.”, Punisher replied.   
“Please don’t tell me we’ve fallen so far we’re working with the Punisher!”, a hero said and I could only agree. If we worked with him, we were not better than our opponents.   
“Your call, Cap.”, Luke Cage said and we all nodded in agreement.


	6. The Evil Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna is having doubts.

I was sitting on top of a building and was looking down at the city. In the distance I could see the lights of the Stark Tower and I thought about what it would be like to be there now. Not to be hunted anymore. How much easier everything would be. But then I thought of Goliath and I knew I would never fight for the Registration Act.   
I sighed. The last week had been terrible. First Goliath had been murdered, then we had lost our last teleporter, many of our people had been arrested – including Daredevil who had been one of my closer friends. The only good thing was that Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Spiderman had switched sides. But even that little victory had been overshadowed by the Captains decision to let the Punisher join the team. The Punisher! He was a goddamn killer! We heroes tried to save lives, while he was all about killing bad guys. Not stopping them, but killing them. I threw a half-hearted punch against the wall to express my anger.   
I didn’t know how long I would last. More and more I gained the feeling that we weren’t fighting for our ideals anymore, we were just fighting. I mean, it wasn’t as if there was a future for superheroes if the Captain won. If we won, it would mean that heroes were no longer under control and S.H.I.E.L.D. would consider us an active threat and eliminate us. And even if we could survive and win the fight against S.H.I.E.L.D., what then? We would have defeated the government. What would we do then? The people would shake with fear at our sight. I didn’t want people to fear me. All I wanted was to help.   
I looked around and spotted flames coming from a building only a couple of streets away. I was almost relieved. A rescue mission would give me something else to think about. I quickly climbed down from the house I was sitting on and ran over to the burning one. A few people had gathered around and were waiting for the firefighters, but I knew they would be to late. Not to late to extinguish the fire, but much to late to save the little boy who I could see behind one of the windows.   
Without hesitating for even a second I broke through the crowd and stormed into the house. Right behind the door there was an open wardrobe. I grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around my mouth and nose. I ran up the stairs while constantly jumping over burning steps and dodging burning wooden planks or pieces of wallpaper.   
I reached the first floor and recognized the room the little boy was in. I opened the door and the boy turned around. “Come on, I’m getting you out of here!”, I yelled over the noise of crackling flames. The boy looked at me with fear. I gestured him to come and held my hand out to him. Slowly he followed me to the stairs. By now the middle part had burned and fallen down but that didn’t stop me. I jumped across the gap and held out my arms. The boy just stared at me with big eyes. He was already coughing wildly and I too had to fill my lungs with oxygen sooner rather than later. “Jump!”, I shouted. “I’ll catch you!”  
The boy was terrified. “But you’re one of the evil heroes…”, he said quietly. Despite the heat I felt goosebumps running down my back. “Jump!”, I repeated. The ceiling above him began to crack. The little boy looked from me to the slowly advancing wall of fire behind him and jumped. I caught him, held him tightly and ran out of the door. Coughing and with some minor burns I fell down in the front lawn with the boy in my arms. Immediately there were people all around me. Someone hugged the boy. “Mummy, the evil hero saved me!”, I heard the boy say.   
I pushed back the pain and the urge to cough and got up.   
“And where do you think you’re going?”, a man asked and stepped in front of me.   
“I just saved him…?”, I managed to say and was about to walk past him. He stopped me again. “And how many have been killed because of that little war of yours? You’re one of the outlaws! I’ve already called the police!”, he yelled. I looked around. I was surrounded by people staring me down. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t prepared for something like this. I wanted to protect the people and here they were trying to have me arrested. I resisted cursing and instead bolted forward without a warning and tackled a man. I rolled and got to my feet, dodged a hand trying to grab me, kicked away a few legs, jumped over a foot trying to trip me and started running. 

It took a long time until I felt safe enough to return to my apartment. And even then I was still on edge. The prior event kept going through my mind. The little boy who called me an evil hero. The people who called me an outlaw and wanted to hand me over to S.H.I.E.L.D. So that’s how the public viewed us. I was close to tears out of desperation. I knew it was wrong to work for the government, to let go of all ideals and principles and to just blindly follow the law. But how could it be right to fight the law if everybody thought you were a criminal? If that many people have a different opinion than you do, isn’t it likely that your opinion is wrong?  
Why was I even fighting? What was the end that I was hoping to achieve? I wanted everything to go back to the way it had been before, but that would never happen. I hated to admit it, but the new law was probably the only future that we had. And still… They had killed Goliath, they had built a high security prison to lock up heroes – not villains – heroes, even though these days that was apparently the same thing…  
What I needed was a break. I couldn’t keep fighting. Not the way everything looked right now. Not when I didn’t know why I was fighting anymore. Freedom, sure, but freedom wasn’t a valid plan for the future, no policy that would persuade people.   
All men are created equal. If only that were true. It would make everything so much easier if everyone could understand our point of view.   
I looked at the sunglasses in my hands. It was my greatest gadget as a hero, it was what motivated me, what kept me going. Today it was only a memory. A memory of the good old times.   
I sighed. I wanted to fight for neither side. I didn’t have superpowers. I could just stop and never show myself in my outfit again. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government would have no right to arrest me.   
I placed the glasses on the table and hung my suit over a chair. Then I went to bed. I had to sleep over it. Tomorrow I would make my decision.


	7. Signing off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna makes a decision.

When I to our hideout the next day there was almost no one there. Only Luke Cage and Falcon sat at a corner of the big conference table and were talking quietly. I walked past them and entered the next room where I found the Captain staring at the blueprints of the Baxter Building.  
“Good morning.”, I greeted.  
“Good morning.”, he replied. “What’s up?”  
I looked at the floor ashamed. “I… I’m leaving.”  
He looked confused. “But you just arrived.”  
I shook my head. “No, I mean I’m leaving and I’m not coming back.”  
The Captain was silent for a moment. “Why now?”  
I sighed. “Because I don’t know why we’re fighting anymore.”  
The Captain seemed surprised. “But you know we’re fighting fore freedom, for our right to…”  
“No.” I looked down at my hands. “I’m ready to start fighting again, if you can answer one question: If we win, then what?”  
The Captain didn’t answer.  
“I thought as much.” I brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “I’m not about to switch sides. I still think the law is wrong and I would never even once consider working for the government. But I don’t have superpowers. As long as I stop wearing a mask they can’t arrest me.”  
The Captain nodded. “Thanks for signing off.”  
I felt terrible as I walked out the door and felt the Captains eyes on my neck. I hated to disappoint him, but I just couldn’t stay.  
Now the only thing I had left to do was to have my name crossed of the wanted list. A little smirk snuck on my face. Time to talk to Tony Stark. 

I heard when Stark entered the apartment. I was stood in front of the gigantic windows of his suite in the Stark Tower, a drink in one hand, and asked myself if it had been a smart idea to just let myself in.  
I heard steps behind me that stopped suddenly. “Jenna?”, Tony Stark asked.  
I raised my glass as confirmation and emptied it.  
Tony strolled over. “How the hell did you get in here?”, he seemed worried. I still looked at the city below us. “Do you remember Silvester?”  
“How could I ever forget?” I could hear the smile in his voice, but I could also hear that he was still wary.  
“I don’t know if you gave it to me or if I stole it… When I came home the next day I had a stick with the override codes for the safety protocols of your apartment…”  
Tony was silent for a moment.  
I turned around to him. “I’m not here to fight.” I gestured at my casual clothes.  
“If you’re here to register, you could have just…”, Tony began but I interrupted him. “I’m not here to register either.”  
I walked over to the bar and set down my glass. “I’m here to say that I’m tired of it all. The fighting, the civil war, the question of right and wrong.”  
Tony raised an eyebrow. “So what are you going to do?”  
I stood next to him in front of the window again. “I don’t have superpowers. As long as I don’t go outside wearing a mask and fighting crime you can’t arrest me.”, I stated.  
Tony nodded. “You want to hang up the mask?”  
“For a time. I’ll leave town for a few days, see how everything plays out. Maybe I’ll go back to the Captain, maybe I’ll register, maybe I’ll just stay home and enjoy the quiet.”  
“Why the change of heart?”, Tony asked.  
“I saved a young boy from a burning building and as a thank you the bystanders wanted to hand my over to S.H.I.E.L.D.”, I told him. Tony sighed. “It should have never come this far. All of this… I saw it coming, you know?” He ran his fingers through his hair. One of these little gestures that I found so attractive about him.  
“I knew it, the whole time. I told the others we should introduce some kind of rules for superheroes in which the team leaders would form a sort of committee, or something. They thought it was immoral. Then I warned them of the law and immediately we were on two sides… If only we had acted earlier, then all of this could have been avoided…”  
“Don’t blame yourself.” I replied. “The civil war isn’t your fault. And you did everything you could to prevent it.” I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to talk about his actions during the war, to throw accuses at him and to criticize his plans: the secret prison for heroes, the murdering Thor-clone, the team up with villains, beating Cap as well as Spiderman to near death… But I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t come here to argue.  
Tony seemed to be waiting for an accusation but when I didn’t say anything he just smiled. “You know, it’s really good talking to you. For once have a conversation with somebody who isn’t on my side but who isn’t fighting against me either.”  
I smiled to. “I know what you mean. The Captain is always so determined… He would go through with this until the end and he expects us to do the same. But he doesn’t see that he’s fighting a lost battle. It is nice to be out of his shadow.”  
Tony sighed. “Steve’s to stubborn.”  
“Yeah.”  
We fell silent for a while.  
“If this were all over”, Tony started eventually. “And the Registration act was still the law… Would you become a hero again or would you keep living a normal life?”  
I shrugged. “That depends. I guess I’ll decide when the situation arrives.”  
I looked at the sun slowly sinking behind the buildings. “I miss the good old days. When we were the Avengers and weren’t separated into pro and contra. When the people were still cheering at us instead of staring at us angrily.”  
“I think we all feel that way.”, Tony replied. He looked at me for a moment, then he stepped forward and kissed me softly. I closed my eyes, pulled him closer to me and let go of all the worries for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIY, Pepper is at this point in the comics in a relationship with Happy (Tony's Bodyguard), so that's why she isn't in this story...


	8. A clear head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna goes and visits Tyler.

I woke up and just lay there for a moment. The bed was so soft and comfortable… I raised my head and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table, it was about three in the morning. I lay back and listened to Tony’s steady breathing. He looked so peaceful when he slept. I brushed a strand of hair out of his face and smiled. This had been the best night in a long time.  
I sighed. If I stayed any longer I would never get myself to leave. Slowly, so Tony wouldn’t wake up, I stood up and searched the floor for my clothes. I got dressed and was ready to go, but I didn’t want to just leave. I searched for a bit and finally found a piece of paper and a pencil. I wrote “Good morning” on it and wrote the number of my new cellphone under it. I put the note on the table next to Tony’s head and after short consideration I lay my sunglasses beside it. The glasses were what was special about me as a hero, without it I was just a good fighter. It was hard for me to just leave them but I wanted to show Tony that I was serious about not being a hero anymore.  
I looked at Tony one last time, he was still sleeping peacefully. I smiled and left. 

When I arrived at home I enjoyed another few hours of sleep, then I packed a few things and went to my car to drive to Boston to visit Tyler.  
I arrived around noon and rang the doorbell to his apartment.  
“Give me a second!”, I heard him shout from inside. I grinned. Some things never changed.  
The door opened and there stood Tyler. He was wearing a shirt with the print “I’m a superhero, please don’t tell anyone, it’s a secret” and his hair was dyed bright red, as usual.  
“Jenna?”, he asked surprised.  
I grinned. “Hi.”  
“It’s so good to see you!” He grinned too and hugged me. “Why do you never call ahead…?”, he complained half-heartedly, but I ignored him and we entered his apartment. It looked just the way I remembered it. The walls were plastered with posters of movies and video games, on the glass attached to the wall behind the stove he had drawn several sketches and lines of code. The table was full of electronics, tools and his laptop and a bunch of used plates sat in the sink.  
“Had I known you were coming I would have cleaned up a little…”, Tyler said shrugging. I put down my back and sat on a chair, after I had carefully cleared it of any memory cards and other computer parts.  
“So, what have you been doing the last few months?”, I asked.  
“The same I always do.” He gestured to the pile of electronics on the table. “I work, I invent…”  
His eyes flashed suddenly. “I went over your glasses again. Now it has voice command and some buttons and some cool new functions. And I talked to a friend who does nanotechnology and we built contact lenses together, that can do the exact same thing!”, he told me excitedly.  
Embarrassed, I looked at the floor. “Uhm… I… I stopped…”  
“What?” Tyler sounded so taken aback, that my bad conscience returned.  
“I’m not a hero anymore… It least not for a while… until everything calms down.”, I explained.  
Tyler sat down on a chair opposite me. “Is everything okay?”  
I nodded. “Yeah. I just don’t want to fight. I don’t see the point of it anymore.”  
Tyler nodded. _“Before you start a war, you better know what you’re fighting for…”_ , he sang.  
I laughed. “Tyler Swift!” I always called him Tyler Swift when he sang.  
Tyler grinned. _“Shake it off, I, I, I shake it off!”_  
We giggled for a while like seven-year-olds, then Tyler pointed at my back. “How long are you staying?”  
I shrugged. “A few days… not long.”  
“So this is really just a visit?”, he then asked. “You’re not being hunted?”  
I nodded. “Just a visit. Nobody is looking for me. I promise.”  
He grinned. “How about I order some take out later and we have a movie marathon like back in the days?”  
I smiled. “That would be great. You have no idea how much I’ve missed this…”  
Tyler smirked. “And for the rest of the afternoon… I have a problem with a piece of technology, you wouldn’t happen to be up to helping me?”  
I grinned back. “You’re the tech genius… How am I supposed to help you?”  
He gave me a little screwdriver. “You’re not so bad and together we’ll be faster than if I work alone…”  
“Alright.” I moved closer to the table and we got to work. 

Later we ordered pizza and had a Star Wars marathon. When we finally fell asleep it was almost morning and I enjoyed sleeping and laying in bed until the afternoon. When we got up we decided to go for a walk and ended up on a park bench, ice in hand.  
“So, what do you want to do, now that you don’t spend your nights fighting anymore?”, Tyler asked at some point.  
“Don’t know.”, I admitted. “I guess I should look for a job or something. Even though that might be difficult, seeing as there’s a huge gap in my resume. I mean, what am I supposed to tell them… Yeah, I was a superhero then and I didn’t really find the time to work regularly…”  
Tyler laughed. “If you really need a job, I’m sure I can get you something here.”  
“Thanks, but I was hoping to stay in New York. I’ll just have to see how everything turns out, who knows, maybe I’ll start hero-ing again. Or I don’t know… I’ll write a book or something.”  
Tyler just nodded. “Like I said, if I can help you just give me a call.”

A few days later I said my goodbyes to Tyler. It hat been nice seeing him again and I had decided to visit more often from now on.  
We were standing in his living room and I packed the last few things into my bag when Tyler came out of the next room and handed me a paper box.  
“What’s that?”, I asked.  
Tyler shrugged. “The stuff I was working on for you. You don’t have to use it, but I thought you should have it. Here it’s only going to lye around...”  
I opened the box and looked inside. There was a new version of the glasses and a smaller box with the contact lenses. The rest of the box was filled by a neatly folded suit, similar to the one I had been wearing as Maroon, but apparently made out of a stronger and more flexible material and with a new design.  
“Cool.” I said. “But I can’t promise that I’ll ever use it…”  
“That’s okay. It’s more likely that you find use for it than I do.”, Tyler replied. He had a point there. I closed the boy and grabbed my bag.  
“Until next time then.”, I said and hugged Tyler.  
“Come back soon!” Tyler smiled. I waved and went out the door. “Bye!”


	9. The Little Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not being a hero is difficult.

I spent the next days aimlessly walking through the streets of the city, doing things I enjoyed and thinking about what I would do with my life now.   
One evening, when I was walking home from the cinema, I heard a scream for help. I stopped. Should I interfere? But I had stopped superhero-ing. But then again, even a normal citizen should help somebody if that person was in danger.   
I shrugged and ran down the sidewalk in the direction of the scream. I looked around the corner of a street and saw two guys with knifes who were threatening a young couple. I smiled. No guns. That was something new.   
I strolled down the street as if I hadn’t noticed the obvious robbery.   
“Hey, you there! Help us!”, the young man shouted. His girlfriend stood behind him, her eyes wide with fear. The man was afraid too even though he was trying to hide it.   
The two thugs turned around to face me. I took of my jacket and dropped it on the floor. I rolled my shoulders and flexed my fingers. The thugs looked wary, they were irritated by my confidence, but decided that an unarmed woman wouldn’t be a challenge to them. One came at me with his knife while the other one kept threatening the couple.   
“Give me your phone and your money and we’ll let you go!”, the guy said sharply. I didn’t answer and instead kept slowly approaching him. The guy swung his knife around a little to intimidate me. It didn’t work. He wasn’t the first idiot with a knife that I had fought.   
“What time is it”, I asked. The guy didn’t answer, but I could see in his eyes that for a moment he was distracted. That was enough for me. I jumped forward, gripped his arm to keep the knife away from me and hit him in the face with my elbow. The guy dropped the knife, I kicked his legs out from under him and left him to his broken nose.   
The second guy turned around to me and I could see in his eyes that he was slowly getting scared.   
The couple stumbled to the side of the street even more frightened. I let the second guy come at me and dodged a few swings with his knife, then when he had just swung and I was out of the knifes reach for a second, I quickly moved forward, hit him in the guts, grabbed his knife hand, kicked his shin, turned and threw him over my hip, so he fell to the ground. I kicked the knife from his hand and turned around to the young couple. “You’re welcome. Have a nice evening.”  
I picked up my jacket and walked to the subway. 

Somehow these incidents kept occurring more frequently after that, until one night I caught myself strolling through a bad part of town looking for trouble. “Looks like you did a good job, not being a hero anymore…”, I murmured to myself.   
I sighed. I should really go home, but now that I was already in the area… I new a Mexican place a couple of blocks over that made the best tacos of the city. I smiled. Time for dinner.   
A few minutes later I was sitting in the corner of the small diner and ate tacos. Three men were sitting at the counter and ate and drank too. Since I was alone and bored I listened to their conversation and almost chocked on my taco when one of them told a joke. I was already paying for my meal when I heard one man ask: “So when’s the party?”  
To any normal person that would have been a normal question to his buddies, but I knew better. I had been fighting crime for long enough to know that “party” was the code word for “coup”.   
Of course there was the chance, that the guy was actually just asking his friends about a party, but I didn’t want to risk it. I payed and left the diner. I waited outside behind a corner and leaned against the wall. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the box with Tyler’s contact lenses that I had been carrying around with me for days. I sighed and opened it. It contained a little mirror and the lenses. I placed them in my eyes and blinked. Everything stayed normal.   
“Zoom.”, I murmured. Immediately everything grew closer to my eye. I grinned. “Zoom zero percent.” Everything zoomed back to normal. Perfect. I put the box back in my pocket and pulled the hood of my jacket further down over my face. I glanced around the corner again and saw the three men stepping out of the diner. I waited a little, then I walked after them inconspicuously.   
I followed the trio for a few streets until they disappeared in an abandoned warehouse. I looked around and found a way to climb through one of the windows. I stayed in the shadows and recognized the three guys who were standing next to a well lit table. Without making a sound I snuck over the beams holding the roof until I could make out what they were saying. I zoomed in on the table with the help of my lenses and could make out the plans lying on it. They showed a warehouse, and a very secure one a that.   
“In two days we have to strike, otherwise not everything will still be there.”, one of the men around the table stated.   
“I have everything you need to hack the locks.”, the only woman at the table said.   
“My men will be ready too.”, a man with a thick Russian accent added.   
“Stark won’t see us coming.”, one man said with a wide grin. I frowned and zoomed further in on the plans until I could read the words in the bottom corner. “Stark Industries”, it read. I had heard enough. These gangsters were planning on robbing one of Tony’s warehouses in two days. Usually I would have seen to it myself but since I officially wasn’t a hero anymore and would be arrested should I be seen in a costume, I would have to tell somebody else.   
I grinned. Time to visit Tony Stark again.


	10. With and Without Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna goes to see Tony again, but in the end things don't turn out the way she thought they would.

When I arrived at the Stark Tower it was already dark. I entered through Tony’s entry like the last time and was wondering if he had changed his security codes. I was standing in front of his personal elevator and typed in the combination that I had written down on a piece of paper.   
“Code incorrect.”, the voice of Tony’s AI stated.   
I stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what I would do now, when the elevator doors suddenly opened.   
“Mr. Stark is waiting for you, Miss Knight.”, Jarvis said. I shook my head smirking slightly and entered the elevator. I noticed amused that AC DC was playing in the background – something I hadn’t noticed the last time. The doors opened on the top floor and I stepped out. Tony was waiting in front of the window and smiled when he saw me. “Hi, Jenna.”, he said. I grinned. “Hi, Tony.”  
“Is there an occasion or did you just come over to see if I have changed my codes?”, he asked amused.   
I allowed myself a mischievous grin, then I got serious again. “I overheard a few guys planning an attack at one of your warehouses. It’s apparently going down in two days.”  
Tony sighed. “I though you were done being a hero.”  
“I am.”, I responded. “It was coincidence…” I realized how pathetic that excuse was.   
“Coincidence? Really?”, Tony raised an eyebrow and I had to suppress a giggle.   
“Do you know that Mexican diner?”, I asked. Tony thought about it for a moment. “The one with the best tacos in the world?”  
“Yep.”, I confirmed. “I was having dinner there. And three guys were sitting at the counter and one asked when ‘the party’ would take place.”, I explained. “And when I heard that I just had to check…”  
“Makes sense.”, Tony admitted. “I’m going to install some extra security tomorrow. Those guys will be quiet surprised when they walk right into a trap…”  
We fell silent for a moment. I studied Tony in his tailed suit, his perfectly cut beard and his blue eyes…  
“Do you have any plans for tonight?”, I asked and gestured at his suit and tie.   
“No, I just haven’t gotten around to changing yet.”, Tony answered. I nodded. Tony looked into my eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but I didn’t let him. I grabbed his tie, pulled him towards me and shut him up with my lips. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, then we pulled away again, gasping for air.   
“I have to say, I did not see that coming.” Tony grinned. I grinned back and wrapped my arms around him. Tony held my waist and we drowned in a fiery kiss. 

“Good morning, Mr. Stark.”, a voice said. I woke up from my slumber and blinked.   
“Shut up, Jarvis.”, Tony grumbled next to me. I smirked. So that’s how you woke up as Tony Stark.   
“Sir, if you stay in bed any longer you will miss your appointment.”, Jarvis persisted.   
“Cancel it.”, Tony responded stubborn. I moved closer to him and lay my head on his chest. He put his arm around me and lightly caressed my back. I closed my eyes.   
“As you wish, Mr. Stark.” Was Jarvis last comment, then everything went quiet again. I slowly fell asleep again and woke some time later. A lifted my head from Tony’s chest and noticed he was already awake and studying me with a warm look in his eyes.   
“Morning.” He smiled.   
“Hey.” I brushed over his chest. He took my hand in his and played with my fingers a little. “How about some breakfast?”  
I grinned. “Great idea.” I brushed my hair with my fingers to restore some order to it. “Let’s go somewhere. I know a great café around the corner where they make good breakfast.”  
“Okay.”  
We stayed in bed for another couple of minutes, then we got up and Tony searched for some inconspicuous clothing. When we left the Stark Tower he was waring a hoodie and a baseball cap. It was strange, seeing him in normal clothes, but they suited him just as well as the suits.   
We strolled down the street to the café and I was impressed how little the people seemed to care about us. Tony was probably the most famous person in the world right now and as soon as he put on a cap nobody recognized him.   
The café was small but nice and I knew the cooking was excellent. We sat down at a table and the waitress asked what we wanted to eat. We placed our orders and when the waitress returned with our meals a few minutes later and handed Tony his plate, she said: “You know, you look exactly like Tony Stark.”  
Tony smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
The waitress smiled and left. I smirked. “That must be so weird… People recognizing you but still not believing that it’s actually you…”  
Tony shrugged. “You get used to it.”  
We ate for a while. Eventually I picked up the conversation again.   
“It’s nice not being part of the whole chaos anymore.”, I said. Tony immediately knew what I was talking about. “Sometimes I envy you about getting out so cleanly. But I can’t just quit. And the final strikes will come soon. I just know, that it’s about to go down.”  
I nodded. “Cap was already making plans when I left, and it’s been two weeks now.”  
“I just hope we can avoid casualties…”, Tony replied and I smiled. In Cap’s Team he had always been the bad guy, he had been responsible for Goliath’s death and for so many other things that we deemed wrong. And I knew Tony had done some bad things, but I also knew, that he had done them for good reasons and was regretting them deeply. That was the worst part about this whole war. There was no “right” and “wrong” side. There wasn’t a team of heroes and a team of villains. There were just a bunch of people with different opinions about an important topic. I was really glad I didn’t have to thing about all this anymore.   
Tony and I finished our breakfast and strolled back to the Stark Tower. We stopped in front of the entry. “Should I come back in a few days?”, I asked.   
Tony smiled. “Sure. I ordered Jarvis to let you in if you use the old codes.”  
“Two days?”, I asked.   
“Two days.”, Tony confirmed. “Then I can tell you about the results from your robbery.”  
I grinned and kissed him. I smiled and was about to leave when I noticed a small red dot, that had appeared on Tony’s belly and was slowly wandering to his chest. I froze and felt like my heart was made of ice and about to shatter. Tony noticed the change in my facial expression and started to say something, but I awoke from my motionless state. I hesitated for only a moment while the dot found the approximate position of Tony’s heart. I jumped forward and pushed Tony aside. I heard the shot, something hit me hard on the shoulder and I was thrown around by the severity of the impact, before I fell to the ground. All around me I heard screams, people were fleeing.   
I threw a glance at my shoulder, thick red blood oozed from it and it hurt like hell. My vision was already clouding. I recognized Tony who was calling for help, men in black suits came flooding out of the Stark Tower. The part of my thoughts that wasn’t busy with the pain laughed bitterly. It had been such a nice morning.   
Then that part too turned off and everything went black.


	11. Waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna wakes up and talks to Tony.

The first thing I heard when I slowly regained consciousness was the rhythmic beeping of one of those machines that read your pulse. I blinked carefully and my vision cleared. The first thing I saw was the perfectly white ceiling of the room. I looked around. On the wall opposite to me hung a huge screen and on the nightstand next to me lay a keyboard. I smiled. So this was the luxury version of a hospital room. I looked at the door, it was made from a light wood with an imbedded glass window. There was a word imprinted on the glass, it read Stark.   
Was I in the Stark Tower? I decided to test that theory. “Jarvis?”, I asked into the empty room.   
“Yes, Miss Knight?”, the AI asked seemingly out of nowhere.   
I smiled. “Where am I?”  
“The medical wing of the Stark Tower. Mr. Stark turned an entire floor of the building into a private hospital in case he or his friends would ever be in need of medical treatment.”  
I nodded. Of course, when we heroes gut seriously injured we couldn’t just go to a doctor. Firstly, because our insurances didn’t cover crime fighting and secondly, because we would have to give away our identities. So we turned to Tony. I had never been injured so severely but some of the other heroes had been here several times.   
“Is Tony okay?”, I asked.   
“He is indeed. I have notified him about your awakening.”, Jarvis replied. I nodded slowly and had a look at my shoulder. It had been neatly bandaged but I refrained from using my arm.   
Shortly after I heard steps that stopped in front of the door. I watched as the doorknob turned and smiled when Tony stuck his head through the door.   
“Welcome back among the living.”, Tony said and closed the door behind him.   
“How long have I been out?”, I asked.   
“Not long.” Tony pulled over a chair. “But you missed a lot.”  
I nodded. “Did you find the shooter?”  
Tony nodded. “Yeah, S.H.I.E.L.D. caught him at the scene, but that isn’t the worst that has happened.”  
“Well who was he?”, I asked. Tony seemed to be a little annoyed. He obviously wanted to tell me something but I kept asking questions about the shooter that apparently really wasn’t his top priority anymore.   
“Just some punk who thought he could make himself a name as a killer. No connections to anyone.”, he replied briefly. Then he took a deep breath. “The final showdown we were talking about… It happened yesterday.”  
“Oh.” So that was what he had wanted to talk about. “What happened?”, I asked.   
“Cap and his team attacked our facility in the negative zone and freed all the prisoners. A fight broke out, Cloak teleported everyone to Times Square…”, Tony explained.   
“How did it end?”, I asked, fearing the answer.   
“Steve surrendered.”, Tony replied and I sighed relieved. At least he was still alive.   
“How come?”, I asked. The Captain had always been so stubborn about his opinion that I found it hard to imagine he would just give up.   
“I don’t know…”, Tony answered. “I think the destruction the fight caused showed him that our war wasn’t helping anybody…”  
I nodded. “Can I talk to him?”  
Tony nodded. “I guess I could organize something…”  
We fell silent for a moment. Eventually Tony looked up. “You know; I’ve been wondering… The shooter… Why did you jump in front of me?”  
“You still have to ask that?”  
“You almost died!”  
“If I hadn’t jumped in front of you, you would have died.”, I explained.   
Tony fell silent for a while. “Have you ever thought about that I might have deserved that?”  
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You can’t be serious.”  
“I am.” Tony sighed. “I did terrible things in the last few months…”  
“But you had good reasons.”, I interrupted him.  
“But is that an excuse?”, Tony asked. “People who do bad things for good reasons… We fight those people on a daily basis. Only very few villains are actually bad just for the sake of it.”  
I shook my head. “You are still a hero, don’t try to convince yourself otherwise. The way it sounds to me you are the winner of this war, so make something of it.”  
Tony opened his mouth to say something but didn’t and instead sighed.   
I took his hand. “Hey!”  
He looked up.   
“It’s over!”, I told him. 

_It’s over._ This thought ghosted through my head hours after Tony had left. It was really over. And even without further casualties. I should be happy, relieved, but somehow my enthusiasm wasn’t very high. I caught myself grieving over the good old times again. I thought about what Tony had told me about the other heroes, more and more registered, even the ones who had supported the Captain before, all except a handful including Luke Cage and Spiderman.   
The Captain himself had been arrested after his surrender and was now in a cell, in one and a half weeks he would go in front of a court. According to Tony the population was calming down, the fear from the superheroes slowly faded, since now almost everyone had registered. Those who hadn’t were of course only condemned as rebels and criminals even more.   
It wasn’t a happy ending, not by far, but it was something to work with. Now it was Tony’s job do shape the future.   
I lay in my bed and sighed. I would let myself heal first, then I would talk to Cap and think about what my future would be.


	12. Epilog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it all played out in the end.   
> (This is where the POSSIBLE SPOILERS for Civil War come into play)

In the end everything went differently than any of us had expected.   
Even thought the good will towards the superheroes rose again that couldn’t lighten the mood within the hero community. Because there was another terrible incident.   
It happened when the Captain was on his way to the courthouse. For some reason they had decided to bring him in through the front entry where of course an angry crowd had gathered. It was broadcasted on every news program and it was impossible that day not to be a witness of the event.   
When the Captain climbed the stairs to the courthouse a little red dot appeared on the back of the guard before him. And like any hero would have, the Captain did the only thing he could: He jumped forward and protected the guard.   
Unlike me the Captain wasn’t so lucky. The bullet went straight through his heart. And that way everyone witnessed that the Captain, even though he had fought against the government and the law for months, only wanted to help. He died a hero.   
This incident rattled the hero community. Some were convinced to register; some were only encouraged in their resistance. Luke Cage and Spiderman disappeared from the public eye but we all knew they had gone underground to reorganize. For them the fight had just begun.   
Tony worked together tightly with Reed Richards and the other leading superheroes and politicians to get the new initiative for superheroes going. Every state of the country would have its own team of registered superheroes. After some persuasion Tony also accepted the post as the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D. As director Stark he and a few other heroes went about rebuilding the team of New Avengers.   
I personally had lost the interest in a superhero life and even after the wound had healed I still felt a sharp sting when moving my arm. So I gave my glasses, contact lenses and suit to a young hero who became the new Maroon.   
After some back and forth I accepted a job at Stark Industries and visited Tony from time to time. In my free time I had started to write a book in which I recounted my experiences during the civil war. My goal was to show the people that there had been no “right” and “wrong” in this conflict and that it had only depended on your point of view.  
The hero community grew over time but those who had been in the war were never the same they had been before. We had fought together and against each other and for what? A whole war and we had only learned one thing:   
It should have never come this far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in time for Civil War's release tomorrow, here's the last chapter. If you read until here and you liked it (or didn't), please leave a comment, I would really appreciate some feedback. 
> 
> Btw, since Marvel recently announced a Civil War II storyline, I might be writing something about that too...  
> Pls tell me if anyone would be interested in that (because if not, than I won't go through the trouble of translating everything into english)
> 
> See you all around,  
> Sunja

**Author's Note:**

> I will try to upload the whole story before the movie comes out, but because I have to translate the chapters I might not make it... Please have mercy on my with language mistakes, English is not my native language, so please don't freak out over overcomplicated sentences or weird phrasing...


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